The annual Woods Factor Talent Show is this Friday, tomorrow, at 7 p.m.

A girl in my sorority, Baylie Borman approached me and asked if I would like to be in the show because they wanted more acts. I of course said YES! Then the next step was figuring out what I was talented at. After some thought I decided I wanted to do something fun, not serious, so I am going to rap and Eminem song dressed as an MnM. What do you think of that idea?

I didn't want to do it alone, so another sorority sister of mine, Melissa Williams, is going to come on stage and sing the chorus for my rap. The song I am doing is "Space Bound" by Eminem, it is on his Recovery CD. I chose this song because I already memorized the lyrics. I was a big fan during the summer between my sophomore and junior year in college when the CD came out.

Now that I have the song and the costume, I am extremely ready/nervous/excited/nervous/nervous/nervous for tomorrow, please wish me luck!

I am the second act, how nerve wracking! This is never something that I could have done as a freshman. I have gained so much confidence and skills here at the Woods just from having such a great support system.

Did I mention I was nervous?

Either way, tomorrow is EQS* weekend and the Talent Show which will prove to be a very busy and fun day for me.

Want to know more about the Talent Show? Here is a news release that I wrote about it.

I can't believe it is already October! Time flies when you get involved!

Today, I'd like to share some insight on my most recent involvement on campus through the Student Alumni Council, or SAC. I've been in SAC since I was a sophomore and it's been a blast! Throughout the year, we host educational and entertaining events for the students to build unity and university spirit. We also collaborate with alumni to help current students transitioning after college. SAC hosts a variety of events from Senior Week: a week of events dedicated to help students who are graduating, to Courtwarming: a week that resembles Homecoming but is at a basketball game instead! Not only do students enjoy coming to our events, we really enjoy putting them on!

Most recently, the junior class has been organizing our second annual Woods Factor! It is a talent show open to any students with any talents with 1st-4th place payouts. In this year's show we only had 4 acts, but the attendance was around 250! Dulaney Auditorium was packed and students were filing into the seats to see the show.

Cassie O'Connell opening the show!

The first act was junior Cassandra O'Connell singing "I Dreamed a Dream," from Les Miserables. She sang a beautiful saprano version, and the crowd errupted with applause after she finished.

Here's Georgia playing "Up in Flames." She is such a talented singer/song writer!

The second act was returnig Woods Factor winner, senior Georgia Hellum-Willits, better known as Georgia Ruth. Georgia sang her original song, "Up in Flames," while playing her guitar. She has such a unique sound, and I still get chills thinking about it!

Kaylee and Amy strike their final pose. I was so proud!

The third act was a dancing duo by two of my best friends at WWU, senior Amy Gibson and sophomore Kaylee Ferrier. They performed a hip-hop number to "Love On Top," by Beyonce. It is one thing to watch your friends dance around in your residence hall and be goofy, but it's another to watch them on stage. When they performed, I was so proud of them!

It was so much fun watching Darus Brondel dancing and singing like a real Backstreet Boy. Hearing BSB made me really miss boy bands!

The final act was senior Darus Brondel, who sang a song by the Backstreet Boys titled, "I Want It That Way." When the song started to play, the audience went crazy! It's always fun to hear a throwback jam! While he was singign, I looked around the auditorium and all the students were clapping and singing along.

The auditorium was packed! It was awesome to see so many students come out and support their classmates.

The winner of the Woods Factor is chosen by those in attnedence. After the final performance, the students in the audience texted in their votes. In first place was Georgia Ruth for the second year in a row! She was followed by Darus, then Amy and Kaylee, and then Cassandra. Everyone who participated won giftcards.

Thinking back on the talent show, I'm so overwhelmed with pride for my classmates. Although we come from different backgrounds, we have different reasons for being here, and we all have different plans for the future, we come together at times like this and have such a blast (I have the biggest smile while I sit here and write this!). It was great to see the support that the audience had for all the contestants and I am really happy that I was a part of it.

Whatever you do and wherever you are in your life, I encourage you to get involved. There isn't much that compares to being part of something bigger than yourself! If you are considering William Woods University, and you want to see what our university has to offer, a link to Student Organizations is at the bottom of this post.

Who knows, you might just find the perfect place for yourself at the Woods! I know I did!

We had such a great time producing the Woods Factor! Join us next year for more great acts and prizes!